Sowing Pearls ofWisdom Sowing Pearls ofWisdom - Literacy Suffolk

Brookhaven National Laboratory
BNL Acronym Assignment
At Brookhaven National
Laboratory, Jennifer Lynch,
ESL coordinator, asked the
students to create conversations
using acronyms. The following
are the two conversations they
created. The women in the class
composed two conversations
and the men composed one.
ACRONYMS
24/7 24 hours, 7 days a week
AC Air conditioning
ASAP As Soon As Possible
BLT Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato
BYOB Bring Your Own Beer
FYI For Your Information
EOD End of Day
JFK John F. Kennedy
(often used for the NY airport)
MST Mountain Standard Time
PB&J Peanut Butter and Jelly
RSVP Répondez s’il vous plaît
(French for Respond Please)
Invitation!
By Cuicui Ai, Zhongyan, & Hu Ling Lan
L to R: Cuicui Ai, Zhongyan Hu & Ling Lan
There are 3 figures in this story: CuiCui (hostess),
Ling (a friend of Cuicui’s, who lives in Kansas), and
Zhongyan (another friend of Cuicui’s, who lives in
California)
Event: Cuicui wants to give two friends an invitation
for a party. She makes two calls.
Cuicui invites Ling
Cuicui: Hello, may I speak to Ling?
Ling: Yes, Ling speaking, who is speaking?
Cuicui: This is Cuicui. How are you?
Ling: Fine and you? I miss you much.
Cuicui: Me too. So I plan to have a party at my house on
July 14th. The time is TBD.
Ling: That is great.
Cuicui: I will prepare BLTs and PB&Js, and can you
BYOB?
Ling: Sure, no problem. Oh, 7 pm. You know I live in
Kansas, so I have to arrive at 4pm MST, right?
Cuicui: Yes, quite right.
Ling: Bye.
30 READING FOR LIFE 2OO8 • Student Writing
Cuicui invites Zhongyan
Cuicui: Hello, Is this Zhongyan?
Zhongyan: Yes, Who is this?
Cuicui: Cuicui speaking.
Zhongyan: Nice to hear you again.
Cuicui: Same here. I want to invite you for a
party at my house on July 14th. The time is
TBD.
Zhongyan: That sounds good. I also want to
take a trip for coolness. You know California is
very hot now.
Cuicui: I just installed a new AC. It functions
well, which can make you cool.
Zhongyan: OK, I will make it.
Cuicui: Great, thanks. Bye.
Zhongyan: Bye.
I’m Zhongyan Hu. I came from China. My
husband and I are going to stay here for two
years. I usually go to ESOL to improve my
spoken English and meet some new friends. I’m
happy to talk with them. I love the life here.
My name is Ling Lan. I am from China. I have
been in America for half a year. I like to make
friends. It’s exciting. I enjoy my life here. I like
Chinese calligraphy. I think it is graceful and can
make my mind peaceful.
Hello, I am Cucicui Ai, from China. I came to
America in 2006 and I enjoy American life,
which has given me many pretty memories.
Certainly, I have many more memories of China.
Slave Driver
By Jinyu Fu and Shinichi Yamazaki
Boss: Hi, Andrew, could you send me your report by EOD?
Andrew: I am sorry, sir, I might not be able to because I have to
finish another job ASAP.
Boss: What about after finishing your present work?
Andrew: I am terribly sorry. FYI, don’t you realize it is 6:00 pm
now? And I have to be home by 7:00 pm because some technicians
will come to repair my AC. By the way, I also need to stop
at a deli and get some PB&Js and BLTs for my child.
Boss: No, you have to work 24/7! After you finish doing your
report, I will celebrate for you. But the time is TBD and don’t
forget to BYOB.
Andrew: Are you kidding me?
L to R: Shinichi Yamazaki and Jinyu Fu
Brookhaven National Laboratory
My name is Jinyu Fu from China. I am a mechanical engineer.
I like playing ping pong, billiards, listening to music and
watching movies.
My name is Shinichi Yamazaki. I came from Japan as a visiting
scientist last June. I am studying polymer chemistry at the
National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National
Laboratory (BNL). To improve my English skills, I joined the
ESOL class at BNL. That’s interesting and fun!
My hobby is photography. There is a lot of nature, museums, and
famous places in New York State. I visited them and look at lot
of pictures. Though I’ll leave this country soon, I had many valuable
experiences in the U.S. Thank you.
LITERACY SUFFOLK, INC. • Sowing Pearls of Wisdom 31